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History of Christianity in Manipur

Friday, May 7, 2021

/ Published by Ralsun Hmar

 

(In Commemoration of Southern Manipur Gospel Centenary Celebration 2010)

~ Rev. Dr. Lalrosiem Songate, M.A., B.D., Th.M., Ph. D

The people living in darkness have seen a great light;on those living in the land of the shadow of death,a light has dawned. (Math. 4:15-16 NIV).

The above quotation taken from the Bible aptly describes the historic moment when Christianity sets its foot for thefirst time in the state of Manipur that turned one of the most ferocious and war-like tribes into one of the mostpeace-loving and most faithful followers of Jesus Christ within a few decades.

The State of Manipur: The small state of Manipur is located at the north eastern tip of India having internationalboundary with Myanmar. Manipur covers an area of 22, 327 square kilometres of which 92% is hill area whereasonly 8% is plain area. It was a part of the British colony during the colonial era and was later merged to the IndianUnion on October 15, 1949. It continues as a Union Territory until it attained a full-fledged statehood on January 21,1972.

The People of Manipur: The inhabitants of Manipur can be broadly divided into two groups such as the Meiteipeople that inhabit the plain area and comprises about 66% of the total population and the Tribal Groups occupiedthe hill areas of the state and comprises about 30% of the total population. The remaining 4% would be the migrantsfrom other parts of the country. The tribal groups are again broadly divided into two groups such as the Nagasoccupying the North, North West and North East region of the state whereas the Non-Naga tribals known as theKuki-Chin-Mizo groups occupy the Southern, South East and South West regions of the State.

The Gospel of Jesus Christ made its way to Manipur from two sides. One is from the North and mainly targeting theNaga tribes and the other is from the South via Mizoram and reaching mainly the Kuki-Chin-Mizo tribes. Thefollowing is a brief description of the accounts.

Light from the North: Thanks to Robert Arthington of Leeds, England, an English millionaire of his time who started aprivate mission society called Arthington Aborigines Mission during the later part of the 19th century. His society issaid to have sent out at least 13 missionaries in 1890 and one of them was a young English man called WilliamPettigrew (1869-1942).

William Pettigrew came to Imphal on Feb 6, 1894 and soon started a school for the boys. However, as the Meiteipeople were alarmed by his presence the British officials, being concern of their political interest ordered him toleave or else go to the hill villages and minister to the head-hunting Naga tribes.

Meanwhile, the Arthington Aborigines Mission also has a plan to move their missionary along as it is their principlenot to remain in one place for more than three years. William Pettigrew on the other hand had no intention ofleaving Manipur as he was deeply aware of the need for evangelism. He therefore applied to the American BaptistMissionary Union and was accepted and he became a Baptist Missionary.

He then began his work at Ukhrul in the early part of 1896 and continued amidst much difficulties and challenges. Healso had a hard time building rapport with the people as he was being suspected of having some evil intent forcoming here. It was after six long years of tireless effort that twelve of his students finally decided to becomeChristians and the first baptismal service was held on September 29, 1901.

The following year the first Church in Manipur now known as Phungyo Baptist Church was established at Ukhrul. TheMission gradually expanded its work and churches are being planted at various places across the northern part ofManipur. This explains why most of the churches among the Nagas in the North of Manipur are mainly that of aBaptist denomination.

As the Baptist Mission began to expand rapidly William Pettigrew and his team in 1928 felt the need to reorganizethe Church under the name of Manipur Baptist Convention (MBC). Initially there were three associations under thisconvention and was formed according to the regions such as North East Association, Sadar Hills Association andNorth West Association.

However, since the early 1940s there was increasing pressure to form Associations on tribal lines and that is how it isbeing administered today. Nevertheless, Manipur Baptist Convention continues to be a dominant figure in Manipurtill today as far as Christianity is concern having twenty-eight Associations under its banner with a total population of1,76,094 as per the Census record of 2004-05. Presently Rev. VumthangSitlhou of the Thadou Baptist Associationserves as the General Secretary of the denomination.

Light from the South: The origin and development of Christianity in the southern part of Manipur cannot bediscussed a part from the history of the Evangelical Congregational Church of India (the erstwhile North East IndiaGeneral Mission) because this is the first church that was established and that many churches that have sprang upover the years are related to this church in one way or another.

Watkin Roberts- The Man behind the Christianization of Churachandpur:

Christianity made its first entrance in the district of Churachandpur from the neighboring Mizoram state in 1910.Watkin R. Roberts, a young missionary from Wales, who had come to help Dr. P Fraser a Missionary at Aizawl,Mizoram, became the man who was instrumental in bringing Christianity to the people of Churachandpur district.Roberts must have harbored the idea of establishing a mission field anywhere in North-East India and the turningpoint in this wishful fantasy was the invitation from heathen tribal chief which reads.

“Sir, come yourself, and tell us about this book and your God.”

The appeal was taken as a Macedonian call. The ‘heathen tribal chief’ in question here is KamkholunSingsonhimself, chief of Senvawn, a village under Tipaimukh sub-division. The Gospel of John which was translated intoLushai dialect had been distributed among the people for evangelistic purpose, and a copy was brought to theattention of the chief of the village. On receiving the invitation to explain the Gospel, Watkin Roberts accompaniedby two of their supported students from Manipur, Thangkhai and Lungpau, came to the chief of Senvawn village toexplain the Gospel to him. That was in early 1910.

Once the team was back in Aijawl, Dr. P. Fraser and Watkin R. Roberts went into immediate preparation to sendmissionaries to Senvawn village. They sent a telegraph message to the Political Agent in Manipur Lt. Major Colerequesting him permission to send their men into Manipur. As soon as an affirmative reply was received, they askedfor volunteers among their supported students and three persons- Savawma, Vanzika and Thangchhingpuia (knownas Taitea)- came forward to work among the people of Manipur South.

Within three months after their initial visit these three young men were sent to work among the people of Senvawn.They left Aijawl and after a few days crossed the Tuivai river at Rahnamchhuah. There were some Meitei peoplecutting bamboo who helped them crossed the river by their small boats. After being transported to the other side ofthe river, the Missionary trio spent a few minutes in prayer, committing themselves afresh for the task that is beforethem. They sang a hymn “Aw PathiannangmaChanchinThazarah” (O God we thank you for your Gospel) and aftergiving thanks to God in prayer they proceeded and entered the village called Senvon to preach the Gospel of JesusChrist. The day was May 7, 1910 and this day has been observed as Missionary Day by the churches for the last fiftyyears now.

In fact, the observation of May 7 as a Missionary Day was started by some local churches in and around Senvon village during the mid-nineteen twenties. As more local churches began observing this day, the Leaders’ Conferenceof the North East India General Mission adopted a resolution in 1960 to observe this Day as a Missionary Day by allchurches. This decision was well accepted by the general Christian population that even those outside of the NEIGMchurches have also been observing this Day. A part from the churches in Churachandpur District observing May 7 asa Missionary Day, it has also been incorporated in the Government Holiday list by the District Administration for thelast many years.

Birth and Development of the Church: During this time the region of North East India was divided between differentmission agencies. The American Baptist Mission operated in the region of Manipur, while the Welsh Mission was tofocus in the region of Mizoram. The American Baptist Missionary William Pettigrew concentrated mainly among theNaga tribes in the north, while the non Naga tribes in the south were still unreached. As Watkin Roberts started hiswork among the non-Naga tribes and as the work of mission began to expand quickly in the south of Manipur, hewas compelled to start an independent Mission called Thadou-Kuki Pioneer Mission (TKPM).

This became necessary because of two reasons. First, the Welsh Mission operating in Mizoram could not simply takeover this work in violation of their mutual agreement with the American Baptist Mission. And secondly, the peopleof Manipur South were unwilling to join the American Baptist Mission which was led by William Pettigrew.

By 1914 the Church that grew out of this mission was able to hold its first Presbytery Conference at Senvawn village.One very significant thing was the manner in which R.Dalla was given ordination. Since there were no ordainedministers among them, all the elderly lay leaders present along with Mr. Watkin R. Roberts laid their hands upon himand ordained him to the work of ministry.

As the work began to expand and spread over the surrounding states like Tripura and Myanmar, the name of theMission was changed to North East India General Mission a few years later. The work of the NEIGM Mission in thesouth of Manipur continued to expand, and Churachand Singh, Maharaja of Manipur, was also compelled to endorsethe mission in order to prevent a possible clash between the workers of the American Baptist Mission and theworkers of the NEIGM. In fact, as the Gospel advances, whole tribes of people living in the southern part of Manipur,who had hitherto remained cut off and isolated from the rest of the world, have been reached by the saving Gospelof Jesus Christ.

Division of the Church on Linguistic Lines: During this early period of the North East India General Mission, Lushaidialect was the lingua franca of the people. Lushai dialect was the only language in which the scripture wastranslated. All Christian hymns and songs were also written in Lushai. There was no language barrier and all theChristians of those days, irrespective of the tribes to which they belonged, came under one administrative set-up ofthe church called the Assembly of the North East India General Mission.

However, during the late forties, there came a general feeling among the Christian workers that they all must havethe opportunity of worshipping God in their own respective dialects. The foreign mission leaders were also of theopinion that no matter how costly it would be, there is nothing better than to have people freely worshipping God intheir own respective languages.

The first breakaway took place in 1949 when the Paite tribe separated themselves from the Assembly under thename of Convention but still maintaining their membership in the NEIGM.In the year 1953, during the Assembly at Saikot village, the remaining tribes such as Hmar, Thadou-Kuki, Vaiphei,Lushai and Gangte unanimously decided to break themselves up into five different presbyteries. The Hmar tribecame under the Assembly Church, the Thadou-Kuki came under Kuki Christian Association, the Vaiphei tribe cameunder Manipur Christian Organization. The Gangte tribe came under Manipur Christian Synod. In order to maintainthe federal unity of the NEIGM, the leaders of these presbyteries meet together once a year to deliberate on the affairs of the NEIGM. This is called Leaders’ Conference. 

The Lushai tribe, however, merged with the Mizoram Presbyterian Church and left the NEIGM shortly after thisbreakup. The Anal tribe was admitted into the membership of NEIGM by the Leaders’ Conference in1978. In 1986,as per the agreement signed at a Consultation at Calcutta between the Evangelical Congregational Church ofAmerica and the NEIGM leaders during Dec. 7-10,1984, the North East India General Mission was formally mergedwith the Evangelical Congregational Church of America and adopted the name of Evangelical Congregational Churchof India. This has become necessary as the NEIGM Home Board, the supporting agency of the NEIGM in America wasdissolved and the Evangelical Congregational Church of America decided to continue to partner with the NEIGM.

The E C Church of India Today: Today the Evangelical Congregational Church of India is a confederation of sixdifferent Conferences representing different tribes of the region. They are the Evangelical Assembly Churchrepresenting the Hmar tribe with Rev. Lalkhamlien as its Executive Director, the Evangelical Churches Associationrepresenting the Thadou-Kuki tribe with Rev. Ginkhosiem as its Executive Director, the Evangelical OrganizationChurch representing the Vaiphei tribe with Rev. Harry Muanlal as its Executive Director, the Evangelical SynodChurch representing the Gangte tribe with Rev.KamginGangte as its Executive Director, the United Evangelical Churchrepresenting the Anal tribe with Rev. B. Thurnung as its Executive Director and the Bible Believing Evangelical Church representing the Lushai tribe in Mizoram with Rev. Sapchhawna as its Executive Director. It has a totalmembership of about fifty thousand that spread beyond the states of Manipur into the neighboring regions.

The E C Church of India today runs a well-established theological institution called Evangelical College of Theologyoffering accredited degrees of Bachelor of Theology, and Master of Divinity. It is also extensively involved inmissionary works in Manipur, Assam, Tripura, Arunachal Pradesh, West Bengal, Nepal and Myanmar. It has its HeadOffice at Congregational Centre, Nehrumarg, Rengkai, Churachandpur, Manipur. Rev. PaozathangSingson is presentlyserving as the General Director of this Church since 2004.

Independent Church of India: A misunderstanding arose between Watkin Roberts the founder-leader of the youngchurch and Mr. H.H. Coleman, General Secretary of the American NEIGM Home Board who had visited the churchesin 1929. Watkin Roberts was removed from the leadership and Mr. H.H. Coleman became the leader in his place.Since there were still a few who stood on the side of Roberts, he was again compelled to start another missionknown as Indo Burma Pioneer Mission (IBPM).However since two separate missions were not permitted to exist side by side in Manipur, the IBPM church inManipur was changed into Independent Church in 1930. Most of its members are concentrating among the Hmartribe with a total population of about 38000. Rev. Lalhmingthang is the present Executive Secretary.

Manipur Presbyterian Church Synod: Following the grouping of churches on the basis of tribe under the NEIGM, theLushai tribe which had been under the NEIGM merged with the Mizoram Presbyterian Church in 1959 and became afull-fledged Synod in 1978. There are now several presbyteries under this Synod, such as Tuithaphai Presbyteryrepresenting the Lushai tribe and Rev. Lallarmawia serving as the Executive Secretary, KhugaSadar Presbyteryrepresenting the Vaiphei tribe and Rev. Kh. Paukhomang is serving as its Executive Secretary, MuollhangphaiPresbytery representing the Thadou tribe and Rev. Lhunkhongam serving as the Executive Secretary and EasternManipur Presbytery representing the Baite tribe with Rev. ThangkhoseiBaite serving as its Executive Secretary. Thetotal membership is now more than 11000. Rev. Vanmawia is the present Senior Executive Secretary of the ManipurPresbyterian Synod.

Zou Presbyterian Synod: Christianity came among the Zou tribe during 1924, but a full-fledged church came to existonly in 1954 under the name of Jou Christian Association. It was changed again into Manipur Christian Conventionand when it merged with the Presbyterian Church in 1958 it came to be known as Manipur Gam Presbytery underthe Manipur Presbyterian Synod. As this presbytery continues to grow, another presbytery was formed out of thisand was called Manipur Eastern Presbytery.

Since people of both these presbyteries speak the same language and as per their request, they were mergedtogether and given a separate synod under the name of Zou Presbyterian Synod by the General Assembly of thePresbyterian Church of India (Vide.Res.No.11.7 dated April 20, 2006). It has two presbyteries with a total populationof 11347. Rev. Khamchinkhai is the present Senior Executive Secretary.

Salvation Army: Several attempts to establish the Salvation Army in Churachandpur had failed since 1935. Howeverat the end of World War II and following a mass migration of people from Mizoram to Manipur, the Salvation Armywas finally established in Churachandpur in 1952 with a total member of 80 only. Today the Salvation Army hasgrown into a total membership of about 2629 with 36 corps (churches). It runs schools and children homes at variousplaces among which The Children Training Higher Secondary School in Churachandpur is the most well-established.Major Sangchhunga is the Divisional Commander of this Army.

United Pentecostal Church: The United Pentecostal Church was first established in Churachandpur district atRawvakawt village in 1950. It gradually grows and finally by 1958 it became well established even in Churachandpurtown. Today it claims to have a total membership of 3200 with its headquarters at Salemveng, Churachandpur.

New Testament Baptist Churches Association: Formerly known as Simte Christian Association, the NTBC wasestablished in the year 1951 at Mongawn village, Churachandpur district. There are over twenty local churchesacross the district with about three thousand believers. Rev. Khamkhosiam is the present AssociationRepresentative.

Baptist Church of Manipur: This church was established in the year 1958 under the leadership of Rev. Siam Kungwho was working under the then NEIGM as Inspector of Schools. The reason behind the founding of this church wasbasically the desire of the Tedim-Chin tribe to worship God in its own language. This was a time when churchesunder the NEIGM were divided on linguistic lines, and the desire of this group was also not out of place. Rev.Dr.T.K.Muana is the present leader of this church.

Catholic Church: The Catholic Church was first established in Churachandpur in the year 1958. It first began withprayer meetings conducted on Sundays at a village called Thingkangphai under the leadership of Mr. JohnDengthuama. Another group was again established at Donbosco L.P. School at Salemveng, New Bazar through theinitiative of Mrs. Nolly a staff of the L.P. School. Today the Catholic Church has grown into three Parishes such as St.Thomas Parish at Singat, started in 1978 and having 700 members, St. Xavier’s Parish at Thanlon, established in 1975with 500 members and the Good Shepherd Parish, Churachandpur started in 1968 with 2000 members. It also hasmany small local gatherings in various places within the district. The Catholic Church is known for its contribution inthe field of education by running high quality educational schools in the district.

The Church of Christ: The Church of Christ was first brought to Churachandpur when M. NengkhozamGuite, L.Kamzakhup, PumkhanlalGuite and T. Thangruai came in touch with this Faith while a student at Shillong. They werebaptized in 1965 and after returning to Churachandpur they became instrumental in establishing this church. Todaythis Church has sixteen local congregations spreading across the district of Churachandpur. According to their setup,each congregation is independent, having no organization or Headquarters, no governing bodies and no clergy in thedistrict.

Evangelical Free Church of India: This is also another church concentrating mainly among the Hmar people whichseparated itself from the Independent Church of India during 1969 under the leadership of the renowned Rev. Dr.RochungPudaite. Though originated in Manipur with still many of its churches in Churachandpur, it has itsheadquarters in Shillong, Meghalaya. It has a total population of about 40159 with many of its members outside ofManipur. Rev. LallienvelPakhuongte is the present President of this Church.

Reformed Presbyterian Church of North East India: This is also a fast growing church which was separated from theEvangelical Assembly Church during 1979. It takes up many developmental programs in partnership with theReformed Church in the Netherlands. Its total population is about 13000 now and Rev. LungawiruolKhawbung is the presentExecutive Secretary.

Evangelical Baptist Convention: The erstwhile Evangelical Convention Church has been an active member of theEvangelical Congregational Church of India representing the Paite tribe since the beginning for many years. Itseparated itself from the Evangelical Congregational Church of India in 1998 and became a member of the BaptistWorld Alliance. It runs a reputed Bible College called Grace Bible College and a high school called Ebenezer Academyat New Lamka,Churachandpur. It has a total population of about 50,000 and Rev. PaukhanmangGuite is the presentGeneral Secretary.

Chin Baptist Association: Founded in 1961, Chin Baptist Association now has 2592 baptized members with 15churches. It is affiliated to Manipur Baptist Convention and Rev. Lang Kho Gin Sian is the present Executive Secretary.

Gangte Baptist Association: First formed under the name of Synod Reformed Church and changed into GangteBaptist Association and was affiliated to the Manipur Baptist Convention in 1973. Today it has more than 3000members. Rev. Tongkhokap is the present Executive Secretary.There are also a few local churches in Churachandpur that belongs to Kuki Baptist Convention and Vaiphei BaptistAssociation whose headquarters are outside of the district.

Assemblies of God (AG): During the fifties, a young Bengali preacher called D.K. Beswas from West Bengal came andministered God’s word in Churachandpur that finally resulted in the formation of the Assemblies of God church. Thefirst AG church was started at Saidan village in 1962 which later spread over many other villages. It runs a reputedschool called AG High School and Nazareth Bible College at Nehru Marg, Churachandpur. Rev. Dr. Jacky Simte is theSuperintendent of this Church.

Evangelical Lutheran Christian Church: First formed under the name of Asian Bible Fellowship Mission in 1980 fromManipur Gam Presbytery, it was again changed into Zomi Christian Church in 1982. It merged with the EvangelicalLutheran Church on September 15, 2002 under the name of Evangelical Lutheran Christian Church. It has a totalmember of more than 7200. Rt. Rev. Dr. HausuankapManlun is presently serving as the Bishop.

Zou Christian Bible Church: Following the ZCC’s merger with the Lutheran Church, there was a group who refused toride along and continue with the Zou Christian Church under the leadership of Rev. David K. Samte. It was laterchanged into Zou Christian Bible Church following its connection with the Bible Churches in America. Rev.Chinzahau is the present Executive Director.

Thangkhal Bible Church: Established in 1981 as Thangkhal Christian Association it became a constituent member ofthe Evangelical Congregational Church of India during 1998-2003 and then affiliated itself to IndependentFundamental Church of America from 2004 under the name of Thangkhal Bible Church. Its population is a little morethan 2000 with 13 local churches. Rev. JangkholunMangte is the present Executive Secretary of this church.

Presbyterian Church in India Reformed: The Presbyterian Church in India Reformed was established on April 14,1984 at Mualkoi, Churachandpur under the leadership of Vung D. Tombing. It was a result of doctrinal differencesamong the leaders of the then Evangelical Convention Church. It runs a well reputed institution called RayburnCollege at New Lamka. Concentrating among the Zomi ethnic groups, this is also a fast growing church with Rev.Khen P. Tombing as the present Chief Coordinator.

Wesleyan Methodist Church of East India: This church was established in 1987 with its offices in Churachandpur andAssam under the leadership of Rev. Dr. LalkhawlienPulamte. Rev. Lalsandam Songate is the present RegionalSuperintendent.

Mizoram Presbyterian Church Synod: Manipur Division: The latest on the ecclesiastical scene is the MizoramPresbyterian Church Synod. Majority of the members of Evangelical Organization Church merged with the MizoramPresbyterian Church in 2001 and later joined by the Evangelical Church of Manipur from Sugnu area in Manipur. Thisled to the formation of the Mizoram Presbyterian Church Synod: Manipur Division. Rev. J. Lalremsiama is presentlydeputed as the Administrative Secretary by the Synod Headquarters in Mizoram.

There are also many churches and local congregations across the district claiming to have maintained their owndoctrinal distinctive and peculiarities. It will not only occupy too much space to include them all, in fact, evenidentifying them itself will be an enormous task that will require ample of time.

The fast growth of Christianity among the tribes of Churachandpur district that converts these whole tribal groupsinto Christianity within a few decades is a clear vindication of the saying that “The Church is a self-propagatingbody.” The latest religious statistics of Churachandpur district (Census 2001) is as shown in the table below:

Hindus: 9,925

Sikhs: 192

Muslims: 1.248

Christians: 1,64,453

Buddhists: 4

Jains: 14

Other Religions: 347

Religions not stated: 1

Total: 1,76,184

Not only has the Church propagated itself within the district, in fact, the process of its self propagation has spilledover the state boundary crossing all political and ethnic barriers across the nation of India and into the neighbouringcountries as well. No wonder, Christianity exceeds 93% of the population in the district!

Impact of Christianity: The impact of Christianity in the lives of the people of Manipur can be discussed in greatdetail. For want of space I would like to point out a few here. First, the message of the Christianity sets us free fromthe bondage of fears. Our forefathers were perpetually gripped by the fear of evil spirits. Any unusual objects in thejungle or in the villages, including abnormal birth of babies in the families, are considered as the work of an angryspirit and have to be appeased by sacrifice. In fact, most of their religious practices are an attempt to appease suchangry spirits. We have been set free from such a pathetic life.

Secondly, Christianity has opened our eyes to our deepest quest, and that is the assurance of eternal life in heavenwith God after death. Our forefathers have realized that they no longer need to hunt heads so that their spirits mayaccompany them into the world of the death because Jesus Himself has promised to take them to heaven when theydie.

Thirdly, the coming of Christianity not only brings spiritual freedom, it also brings education. Today the progress ofthe people of Manipur, particularly the tribals, in the area of education is to be attributed mainly to the schools thatare run by missionaries and churches. Even till today with so many Government schools not functioning in theremote hill villages, it is still the church-run schools that continue to impart basic education to the children.

Fourthly, the transforming power of the Gospel coupled with the spread of Western Education brought tremendoussocial revolution and transformation to such an extent that there is so much of change in our living standard andsocial life. Our young people are now no longer behind as far as educational competitions are concern, be it at thestate level as well as the national levels. What Rev. Dr. I. Ben Wati has said in this regard is noteworthy:

“With so many tribes and sub-tribes Churachandpur was an enterprising and competitive town.What amazed me was that Churachandpur has produced more IAS Officers, more theologians, Christianleaders, evangelists, missionaries and business people than any other place in North East India, and perhapsin the whole of India, when considered from a small town of this size. Some sociologists or social analystscan make a thorough study of this phenomenon and get a doctorate from the Manipur University orNortheast Hill University. In the ancient past the greatest mind in all history seemed to have beenconcentrated in Athens in Greece at one period, and to me Churachandpur is one such place.”

Finally, the Christian message of love and freedom inculcate a spirit of love and trust between people of differentvillages and tribes that enabled us to coexist peacefully for the last many years though there are times when suchspirit of peaceful co-existence is being challenged by certain elements.

Therefore we accord our deepest respect and love to those pioneers like William Pettigrew, Watkin Roberts,Savawma, Thangchhingpuia, Vanzika, Lungpau, Thangkai and many more who were instrumental in bringing the lightof Christianity to every nook and corner of our state. Above all, we thank God Almighty for raising his servants tobring the light of the Gospel into this seemingly God-forsaken land of ours.

To God be the Glory!!

(PS: This article was first published in Churachandpur Year Book 2007 published by the District Administration. The article is again enlarged and edited for publication in the Gospel Centenary Compendium 2010 and now some names of denomination leaders are again updated for this publication.)

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

Chinkhup R. Tombing, History and Growth of the Presbyterian Church in India Reformed, (M.Div. Thesis, Covenant Theological Seminary, St. Louis)

Darsanglien Ruolngul, Chanchintha Kalchawi Part I & II, (Sielmat: Independent Church of India, 2003)

Donna Strom, “Christianity and Culture Change Among the Mizoram,” Missiology 8.03 1980

ElungkiebeZeliang, A Hisotry of the Manipur Baptist Convention (Imphal: Manipur Baptist Convention, 2005)

I. Ben Wati, Gospel Centenary Souvenir Magazine, (Guwahati: Guwahati Hmar Christian Fellowship, 2010)

K. Ramropui Hmar, The History of Assemblies of God in Manipur, (Churachandpur: Christ Ambassadors, 2007)

Lal Dena, Christian Missions and Colonialism, (Shillong: Vendrame Institute, 1988)

Lalrosiem Songate, Missional Principles for the Church in North East India with special reference to the Evangelical Congregational Church of India, (Th.M. Thesis, Western Theological Seminary, 2005)

Lalsangkima Pachuau, “Church-Mission Dynamics in Northeast India,” International Bulletin of Missionary Research, Vol. 27, No.4,October 2003.

L. Jeyaseelan, Impact of the Missionary Movement in Manipur,(New Delhi: Scholar Publishing House (P) LTD, 1996)

Th. Lamboi Vaiphei, Advent of Christian Mission and its Impact on the Hill-Tribes in Manipur, (Churachandpur: Th.LamboiVaiphei, 1997)

The North East India General Mission Diamond Jubilee Souvenir Magazine (Churachandpur: North East India General Mission,1985)

Proceedings of the Leaders’ Conference, NEIGM, April 12, 1986, Res. No.3.

Timothy Zote (ed), Manmasi Year Book, 2005

Tapidaw Golden Jubilee Souvenir, Evangelical Lutheran Christian Church, Churachandpur, 2004

“How the Truth of God was Brought to Manipur State in India,”Christian Thupawtu, Special Issue (New Lamka: Church of Christ, 1993)

National Informatic Center: Churachandpur:

(http://ccpur.nic.in/districtcensus.htm#Population%20of%20Churachandpur%20District%20by%20Major%20Religious%20Communities (Accessed on 29/11/2007).

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